Wednesday Bolts – 8.21.13

Jason Quick gave a terrific interview to Blazersedge about leaving the Blazers beat: “The fans too. They piss me off. I feel like I get so much unwarranted —-. A lot of this stuff, I can’t say where I’m getting it from. Just trust me. I don’t want to get into it. I feel like people don’t understand this profession. A lot of times when you’re writing stuff, you know it, you just can’t reveal who it’s coming from.”

Amin Elhassan of ESPN Insider with burning questions: “The departure of Kevin Martin from the Thunder leaves a gaping hole for the sixth man scorer’s role, one that had also previously been held by James Harden, and Jackson probably stands the best shot at filling that need. In a weird way, Jackson has benefited tremendously from two major injuries to teammates: Eric Maynor’s torn ACL two seasons ago and Westbrook’s torn meniscus during the playoffs. While he isn’t nearly as explosive or efficient a scorer as Harden or Martin, Jackson has the potential to be the best defensive option of them all. He has good length and quickness and is a tremendous rebounder from the backcourt, but has a penchant for getting lazy on the defensive end, something that doesn’t stick out as much at 14 minutes per game as it does at 27.7 (what Martin played last year) or 31.4 (what Harden played). Jackson needs to set himself apart by bringing the intensity and focus on the defensive end consistently.”

KD was named best person to following on Twitter by the Oklahoma Gazette: “On his Twitter account, the OKC Thunder’s superstar small forward proclaims, “IM (sic) ME, I DO ME, AND I CHILL.” Whatever he’s doing, Oklahoma City is eating it up. Follow KD on Twitter to keep up with his commentary (“Just got boo’d at a dodger game! My life is complete”) and interaction with sponsors. Heck, he’s even been known to set up a flag football game with Twitter followers, so who knows what’ll come of it?”

Ethan Sherwood Strauss of TrueHoop: “This is mere supposition and could remain so for years given the small sample size we’re discussing and the vagaries of NBA player biographies (many basketball prospects move from school to school, searching for the best-fitting hoops program). I should also mention that a few current excellent shooters speak of humble city beginnings, most notably Kevin Durant. The NBA’s just seen a surprising influx of dead-eye shooters born to former professional players. These players, many of whom had hoops in their backyards, year-round access to climate-controlled gyms and shooting coaches are looking at the park and lofting a jumper over it.”

Im kinda worried about jackson suddenly having to fill a huge hole after being burried on the bench. I'm actually not too worried about the defensive part, he's got the body to be a good defender so he can grow into it. I'm more worried because i like him as a playmaker more than as a sparkplug scorer. He shouldn't come into a game feeling like he needs to score a lot. That's not how i'd try to develop him

@claeys He'll never be a playmaker like Maynor (his assist totals were low even in college) but he's been very difficult to stop at the rim. Perimeter players who are dominant at the rim are very, very rare. RJ's ceiling is a poor man's Dwyane Wade.

@[corporate shill]@Crow@seth_22 yeah. my best shot was the 17-20 foot bank shot from the nail at top side of key. when I was young I'd practice that most days and could hit it with my eyes closed time after time. but didn't have the cams on I guess.